If you are a minimum wage worker in Washington state, you are due for another pay increase in January of 2026. Just talking about the minimum wage in the state of Washington can be a little controversial. Many business owners are up in arms over it.
According to Seattletimes.com,‘The minimum wage for workers in Seattle and Washington state is going up.The state minimum wage will rise 2.8%, from $16.66 per hour to $17.13, on Jan. 1, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries announced Tuesday.’
$17.13 an hour actually sounds like a lot of money unless of course you have to actually live on it. I understand why business owners are up in arms, especially if you are in a service business. A higher minimum wage means higher overhead, which means you may have to raise your prices. No merchant wants to raise their prices.
Let’s get a little perspective.
In 1974, the minimum wage was $1.80 an hour. The minimum wage didn’t surpass $5.00 an hour until 1997 at $5.15 an hour. By the way, that increase was federally mandated. It wasn’t until 2017 that the minimum wage broke $10.00 landing at $11.00 an hour…